8 Spices Truly Worth the Splurge

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When it comes to a spice cabinet, I'd rather have fresh, well organized spices than a tumbling tower of top-shelf stuff so old I can't remember when I bought it. No matter how good a spice is, it doesn't do you any good unless you use it, and in most cases good spices don't cost much. Visit the right online shop or specialty grocery and you can usually find higher quality spices — and more fresh, too — for less than what you pay at your local supermarket.

But some spices are pricey no matter how you get them. Saffron, of course, is the most expensive food in the world, which is why it's often sold in dime bag sizes at dime bag prices. Vanilla beans also don't come cheap, though it's worth questioning if you really need them for a certain recipe. Beyond those obvious examples, when else is a pricy spice really worth a splurge purchase? Will it make a noticeable difference in your cooking? These eight spices make the case for spending some extra cash, and where you can find them.

Cardamom

When it comes to pricy spices, cardamom is usually up there right after saffron and vanilla, and with good reason. Harvesting the pods by hand is remarkably labor-intensive, and the spice's creamy-floral-bitter-menthol character brings an unmistakable fragrance to everything from rice pilaf to cookies to tea and curry blends, which means it's in high demand the world over. Few spices dance between sweet and savory so well, and whether you're tossing cardamom into biryani, ice cream, or a cocktail, you'll never doubt where the brilliant complexity is coming from.

It's not uncommon to pay eight to 12 dollars for a couple ounces of the stuff at your supermarket. But the ground cardamom often sold there goes stale quickly and is easy to adulterate with cheaper filler. So yes, do shell out for cardamom, but shop wisely. Buy whole cardamom pods for maximum freshness and versatility (the seeds and shells have different and complementary flavors). The Spice House sells cardamom for about half the price of what you'll find at supermarkets, and much fresher. And every Indian grocery will stock cardamom, from eight-ounce packages to veritable pillowcase quantities. It'll be one of the priciest spices in the store, but still a fraction of what you'd pay elsewhere.

Grains of Paradise

During the Middle Ages, these red-hued kernels were used as substitutes for black pepper, which at the time was still wildly expensive in Europe. A few centuries of colonialism later, the ever-popular black pepper went from royal luxury to everyday staple, and the African Melegueta pepper fell into obscurity.

That is until recently, as more and more cooks realize grains of paradise's potential as a far more interesting and nuanced alternative to black pepper. Where the black spice can be all camphor and pungent, grains of paradise show a balance of woodsy and citrusy flavors that give way to warm notes of cinnamon and cardamom, with way less harshness than black pepper. You can use it anywhere you'd use pepper, but I find it brings exceptional balance — more than black pepper would — to simple vinaigrettes, pepper-crusted beef, and spice cakes. While a few specialty stores sell it, you mostly see grains of paradise online.

Black Pepper

While we're on the subject of black pepper, ask yourself, when's the last time you bought some for your pepper mill? When you smell the pepper in your kitchen, does it make your nostrils flare with sweet, spicy notes of mustard, jasmine, or pine?